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A team across generations. Build your eleven, then explore the careers.
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A team across generations
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The 330 on the pitch
The duels
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The 33 of Ghana.
Editorial order, with a career scene and sources behind every name.
01
ME
Michael Essien 59 caps (Ghana) · SC Bastia, Olympique LyonnaisNine minutes into the semi-final second leg at Stamford Bridge on 6 May 2009, a Barcelona clearance dropped to Essien 25 yards out and he volleyed it in off the underside of the bar.
CDM2002–2014
04
Asamoah Gyan 109 caps (Ghana) · 51 goals · Udinese Calcio, ModenaSuárez handled on the line in the last minute of extra time in Johannesburg on 2 July 2010, and Gyan's penalty struck the crossbar with a first World Cup semi-final for an African team behind it.
ST2003–2019
Asamoah Gyan 109 caps (Ghana) · 51 goals · Udinese Calcio, ModenaSuárez handled on the line in the last minute of extra time in Johannesburg on 2 July 2010, and Gyan's penalty struck the crossbar with a first World Cup semi-final for an African team behind it.
ST2003–2019
05
SA
Stephen Appiah 67 caps (Ghana) · 14 goals · Udinese Calcio, JuventusThe penalty against the United States in Nuremberg on 22 June 2006 came in first-half stoppage time, and Appiah put it away to make it 2-1 and carry Ghana into the last 16 at their first World Cup.
CM1995–2010
06
TY
Tony Yeboah 59 caps (Ghana) · 29 goals · Eintracht Frankfurt, Leeds UnitedOne volley on a Monday night at Elland Road, 21 August 1995, settled Leeds against Liverpool when Yeboah met a dropping ball and put it in off the underside of the bar, and his goal at Wimbledon a month later took Goal of the Season. Twice the Bundesliga's top scorer with Eintracht Frankfurt, in 1993 and 1994, he was the first African to captain a Bundesliga club and finished second in the 1993 African Footballer of the Year vote.
ST1985–1997
08
IS
Ibrahim Sunday Asante Kotoko, SV Werder BremenIn January 1971 he led Asante Kotoko into the 20 May Stadium in Kinshasa and came away with a 2-1 win over TP Englebert that made them champions of Africa for the first time.
CAM1966–1977
09
KA
Kwadwo Asamoah 74 caps (Ghana) · 4 goals · Udinese Calcio, JuventusOn 9 March 2014 he took the ball into the Fiorentina box, dragged it back away from a cluster of defenders and fired into the top corner for the only goal of the game.
CM2009–2019
10
Sulley Muntari 84 caps (Ghana) · Udinese Calcio, PortsmouthTwo minutes into first-half stoppage time of the Soccer City quarter-final on 2 July 2010, he let fly from long range and beat Fernando Muslera to put Ghana in front of Uruguay.
CDM2002–2014
Sulley Muntari 84 caps (Ghana) · Udinese Calcio, PortsmouthTwo minutes into first-half stoppage time of the Soccer City quarter-final on 2 July 2010, he let fly from long range and beat Fernando Muslera to put Ghana in front of Uruguay.
CDM2002–2014
11
Thomas Partey 61 (as of 4 October 2026) caps (Ghana) · 16 (as of 4 October 2026) goals · Atlético Madrid, RCD MallorcaA 25-yard strike in the twentieth minute of the north London derby on 1 October 2022 was his first goal from outside the box in 65 Arsenal attempts, and the club voted it their goal of the season.
CM2016–
Thomas Partey 61 (as of 4 October 2026) caps (Ghana) · 16 (as of 4 October 2026) goals · Atlético Madrid, RCD MallorcaA 25-yard strike in the twentieth minute of the north London derby on 1 October 2022 was his first goal from outside the box in 65 Arsenal attempts, and the club voted it their goal of the season.
CM2016–
12
KA
Karim Abdul Razak 62 caps (Ghana) · 25 goals · Asante Kotoko, New York CosmosGhana lifted the trophy on home soil for their third title, and he was named African Footballer of the Year later that year, the second Ghanaian after Ibrahim Sunday to take the award.
CM1975–1987
13
OK
Osei Kofi 25 caps (Ghana) · 19 goals · Hearts of Oak, Asante KotokoTunis, 1965: he scored in all three of Ghana's matches, finished joint top scorer and created the goal that beat the hosts in the final, a tournament so complete that the Ghana FA president took to calling the trophy the Osei Kofi Cup.
ST1964–1973
14
GA
George Alhassan FC 105 Libreville, Ulsan HDFour goals carried him through the 1982 Nations Cup, two of them against Algeria in the semi-final and one that put Ghana ahead of hosts Libya in Tripoli on 19 March, in a final the Black Stars won 7-6 on penalties.
ST1970–1990
15
John Mensah 86 caps (Ghana) · AC Bellinzona, Genoa CFCRock of Gibraltar was the name that stuck, and it held in Rustenburg on 26 June 2010, when he captained Ghana past the United States in extra time and into the World Cup quarter-finals.
CB2001–2012
John Mensah 86 caps (Ghana) · AC Bellinzona, Genoa CFCRock of Gibraltar was the name that stuck, and it held in Rustenburg on 26 June 2010, when he captained Ghana past the United States in extra time and into the World Cup quarter-finals.
CB2001–2012
16
OA
Opoku Afriyie Asante KotokoFans knew him as Bayie, and in the 1978 Nations Cup final in Accra he scored both goals as Ghana beat Uganda 2-0 and kept the trophy for good.
ST
Career sources
Identity and career · Wikidata Q3354340
17
RK
Richard Kingson 93 caps (Ghana) · Galatasaray S.K., SakaryasporGhana knew him as Olele, and on 26 June 2010 in Rustenburg he was voted man of the match after keeping the United States out long enough for Asamoah Gyan to win it in extra time.
GK1996–2012
18
John Paintsil 89 caps (Ghana) · Maccabi Tel Aviv, Hapoel Tel AvivPaintsil pulled an Israeli flag from his sock after Ghana beat the Czech Republic in Cologne on 17 June 2006, a thank you, he later explained, to the Tel Aviv clubs who had seen him off at the airport.
RB2001–2013
John Paintsil 89 caps (Ghana) · Maccabi Tel Aviv, Hapoel Tel AvivPaintsil pulled an Israeli flag from his sock after Ghana beat the Czech Republic in Cologne on 17 June 2006, a thank you, he later explained, to the Tel Aviv clubs who had seen him off at the airport.
RB2001–2013
19
KO
Kwasi Owusu 52 caps (Ghana) · 36 goals · Bofoakwa TanoNiger let in five to him in Accra in August 1969 and four more in Niamey a month later, nine goals in one Cup of Nations qualifying tie that Ghana took 15-1 on aggregate.
ST1967–1977
20
ON
Opoku Nti Asante Kotoko, ServetteKumasi called him Zico, and in 1983 he settled the African Cup of Champions Clubs final there himself, the goal that beat Al Ahly and made Asante Kotoko champions of the continent.
SS1981–1992
22
Jordan Ayew 113 (as of 4 October 2026) caps (Ghana) · 31 (as of 4 October 2026) goals · Olympique de Marseille, Aston Villa
SS2010–
Jordan Ayew 113 (as of 4 October 2026) caps (Ghana) · 31 (as of 4 October 2026) goals · Olympique de Marseille, Aston Villa
SS2010–
23
WM
Wilberforce Mfum 26 caps (Ghana) · 20 goals · Baltimore Bays, Philadelphia UkrainiansThe terraces called him Bulldozer after his shot against Tunisia in Accra on 24 November 1963 tore clean through the net, the referee giving the goal only once the officials had inspected the damage.
SS1960–1968
24
HA
Harrison Afful Asante Kotoko, Espérance Sportive de TunisOn 12 November 2011 in Radès he cut inside from the right and curled a left-footed shot past Yassine Bono, the only goal across both legs of the CAF Champions League final.
RB2008–
25
JM
Jonathan Mensah Free State Stars, Granada CFCairo, 16 October 2009: Ghana played from the 37th minute with ten men in the Under-20 World Cup final, and Mensah's own penalty in the shootout was saved before Brazil missed three of theirs.
CB2009–
27
CT
Charles Taylor 16 caps (Ghana) · 2 goals · Accra Hearts of Oak SC, Asante KotokoTerror was the name he answered to, and Zamalek learned why on 11 February 2001 in Kumasi, when he seized on a mistake by goalkeeper Abdelwahed El Sayed in the twelfth minute and Hearts of Oak took the CAF Super Cup 2-0.
RM1999–2004
28
Hans Sarpei 36 caps (Ghana) · SC Fortuna Köln, VfL WolfsburgHe turned 34 two days after Ghana beat the United States in Rustenburg, then went out again for the Uruguay quarter-final, having played every match at left back in South Africa.
LB2000–2010
Hans Sarpei 36 caps (Ghana) · SC Fortuna Köln, VfL WolfsburgHe turned 34 two days after Ghana beat the United States in Rustenburg, then went out again for the Uruguay quarter-final, having played every match at left back in South Africa.
LB2000–2010
29
IA
Isaac Acquaye Ghana beat Uganda 2-0 at the Accra Sports Stadium on 18 March 1978 with Acquaye in the squad at number 14, the day the Black Stars took the African title for a third time and kept the trophy for good.About the editorial selection
CB
30
JC
Joseph Carr Uganda came to the Accra Sports Stadium on 16 March 1978 and did not beat him once, and Opoku Afriyie's two goals at the other end handed Ghana a third African crown in front of its own crowd.About the editorial selection
GK
31
RM
Robert Mensah Ebusua Dwarfs, Asante KotokoThe cap never left his head, so Ghana called him Yashin after the Russian who wore one too, and opposing forwards took to snatching it off him in the belief that it carried juju.
GK1968–1971
32
JO
Joe Odoi The 1984 season brought him Ghana's footballer of the year award, won from the right side of an Accra Hearts of Oak team that took the national championship and then defended it a year later.About the editorial selection
CB
33
SI
Shilla Illiasu 13 caps (Ghana) · King Faisal Babes, Asante KotokoStill on Asante Kotoko's books and one of only four home-based players in the squad, he started at centre-back in Cologne on 17 June 2006 as Ghana beat the Czech Republic 2-0 for the country's first World Cup victory.
CB2006–2008
About this XI
Ghana's pool is led by Michael Essien, Abedi Pele and Samuel Kuffour. The 33 covers 3 goalkeepers, 9 defenders, 12 midfielders and 9 forwards, with sourced senior international careers spanning the 1960s to the 2020s. Pick a formation, drag your eleven onto the pitch, then explore the careers and settle the duels below. Your votes reorder the people's ranking of these 33 in real time.
Left out, and why
A 33 is a set of decisions, and these are the players who lost their place in the last revision of Ghana's list. Every one of them has a case.
- Laryea KingstonThe place went to George Alhassan.
- Yaw YeboahThe place went to Opoku Afriyie.
- Baba RahmanThe place went to Jordan Ayew.
Disagree? That is the point. Settle it in the duels above.
Who is the greatest Ghana footballer of all time?
The editorial collection starts with Michael Essien. Its first five careers: Michael Essien, Abedi Pele, Samuel Kuffour, Asamoah Gyan, Stephen Appiah. The people's ranking on this page moves with every duel vote and can disagree.
How were these 33 Ghana players chosen?
The collection covers every position across Ghana's football history. Honours, international records and career achievements inform the editorial order. Each entry opens a career note and its sources. Fan votes in the duels build a separate ranking.
Where can I read about the careers?
Open a player page from the collection to read the career scene, club record and recorded honours. The source links show where the available records come from.
Can I build and share my own Ghana all-time XI?
Yes. Pick one of 8 formations, place any of the 33 players onto the pitch, and export your lineup as a PNG. There is no account and no sign-up.